JUL
20 -- (East St. Louis, IL)
- A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney
for the Southern District of Illinois,
announced that DEMPSEY IVERY, age
44, of Harvey, Illinois, pled guilty
in United States District Court in
East St. Louis, to conspiracy to distribute
and possession with intent to distribute
5 kilograms or more of cocaine and
admitted a forfeiture allegation contained
in the superseding indictment.

At
his change of plea hearing, IVERY admitted
to knowingly participating in a conspiracy
which involved the transportation of
cocaine, primarily from the Chicago
area to St. Clair County, Illinois,
and the distribution of cocaine in the
Southern District of Illinois. The conspiracy
also involved the transportation of
money, primarily from the Southern District
of Illinois to the Chicago area.

Sentencing
is currently set for November 10, 2010,
at which time IVERY faces a sentence
of 10 years to life imprisonment, a
fine of up to $4 million, and a term
of at least 5 years of supervised release,
and faces the forfeiture of cash and
other property. IVERY has been ordered
detained and remains in custody pending
sentencing.

Evidence
for this conviction was gathered in
an investigation conducted by the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) and
the FBI. The investigation was conducted
under the auspices of the Organized
Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF),
an initiative designed to provide a
coordinated effort of federal, state,
and local law enforcement agencies to
target and dismantle national and international
drug trafficking organizations. The
case is being prosecuted by Assistant
United States Attorney Andrew Simonson.